When God is silent

Have you ever gone through a season where it felt like God was silent?

You pray, you wait, you listen, and still, nothing. It’s not that you’ve lost faith. You still believe in Him. You still go to church, read your Bible, and try to live your life for God. But God doesn’t speak into a situation you hoped He would. When you read your Bible, you don’t get that revelation moment. You’ve been praying for a breakthrough that never comes.

It’s in those seasons that our faith is truly tested—not in the loud, miraculous moments, but in the quiet, everyday trust of walking with God.

In any relationship, there will be mountain-top moments, times of joy, love and deep connection. But as any married couple will tell you, there will be seasons that require intentional love. There are days when loving your spouse isn’t about feelings, it’s about a conscious choice. It’s the same in our relationship with God. When He feels distant, choosing to trust Him and have faith is an act of devotion.

One of the biggest lies the enemy tries to plant in our hearts is this: If God loved you, He would speak. But scripture reminds us in Psalm 34:18 that “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

God’s silence doesn’t mean His absence.

In a season of silence, we have to consciously remind ourselves that God hasn’t changed. He is still the God who sent His son to die on the cross for us. He is still the God who knit you together in your mother's womb. He is still the God who has brought you this far.

I don’t know what your story is, but I can guarantee that there will be times where God has intervened, provided, powerfully spoken to, or simply held you. Something I’ve learnt is that, when I feel like God is silent, reminding myself of who God is and what He has already done strengthens my faith and stamps out the lie that if God loved you, He would speak.

The second thing I’ve learnt is I can never understand God. If in that season of silence I’ve been praying for healing or a miraculous intervention that doesn’t come, I get angry with God. I get angry because, from my viewpoint, I don’t see why God wouldn’t heal or intervene. It just doesn’t make sense. But that’s where I have to remind myself of God’s greatness. God tells us in Isaiah 55:9 that “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

We may not always understand His timing or reasoning. But we can trust that He is good.

The final thing I’ve learnt is sometimes I’m just blind to what God’s doing. This doesn’t mean that God answers all my prayers in the way I prayed for and I’m so distracted by other things that I’ve failed to notice. As we’ve said, there are times when God doesn’t answer prayers, but that doesn’t mean that God’s not at work.

Maybe you’ve been praying for months for a particular job, but God had something better in store, something you couldn’t see at the time. Or maybe you’ve gone through something painful, and you can’t see how God could possibly be in it. But down the road, you discover He’s using your story to comfort and encourage others walking through similar pain.

God is always doing more than we realize.

So, if you’re in a season of silence, whatever the circumstances, I want to encourage you:
God is still with you.
He still loves you more than you could possibly comprehend.
And He is still working.

Even in the silence, He is not absent.
Even in the waiting, He is not finished.
Even in your doubts, He is still God and He is still good.